


Spying

by yeaka



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Gen, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-18 08:07:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21741100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeaka/pseuds/yeaka
Summary: Archaeology is fun.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 19





	Spying

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Star Trek or any of its contents, and I’m not making any money off this.

At one point, the planet below must have had an absolutely _fascinating_ culture. It’s teeming with old ruins, littered with ancient markings, covered in elaborate primordial murals that should have Federation scientists busy for years. The enormity of the discovery isn’t lost on Spock. There are currently twelve separate away teams on the planet, all small contingencies simply taking notes and recordings. Jim is heading his own, and he checks in every thirty minutes with a new ground-breaking discovery, making significantly more progress than the other eleven away teams combined. Though Spock understands that his duty is to run the Enterprise in Jim’s stead, he’s privately looking forward to his own examination of the planet’s surface. 

Then Uhura tells him, “Sulu’s team is checking in, Sir. They’re asking for you.”

Spock swivels slowly in the captain’s chair, lifting one arched brow at her. He orders, “Patch it through, Lieutenant.”

She does, and Sulu’s voice informs him, _“Sir, we’ve found what seems to be an old puzzle, and we need your help to—”_

_“Nyet!”_ Chekov’s voice cuts in. _“We do not require assistance!”_

_“Yes, we do! Pavel, we’ve been looking for that damn bow for twenty minutes—”_

_“Perhaps it is a translator issue, and we are looking for a weapon rather than a ribbon—”_

_“I don’t see that kind of bow either!”_

_“We will find it!”_

_“We won’t—”_

“Gentleman,” Spock interrupts, less amused than Jim would likely be. “Do you require my assistance or not?”

 _“Well...”_ Sulu starts, and before Chekov can revoke Spock’s good excuse to see the planet early, Spock accepts that.

“Very well. I will beam straight down.”

_“Thank you, Commander.”_

Chekov begins a curse word in Russian that Uhura quickly cuts off before the translator can fully explain it. Spock ignores it. He has better things to do. He rises from his seat and announces, “Mr. Scott, you have the bridge.”

“Aye, Sir,” Scotty answers from the engineering console, having come up earlier, likely in the hopes of seeing some of this mesmerizing dead culture for himself.

Spock’s gait might be just a _tad_ quick on his way to the transporter room. He wastes no time on explanations, instead having Kyle beam him straight down. Then he’s coalescing in a rocky terrain littered with large pillars and square structures that vaguely resemble short houses.

Sulu and Chekov are standing in front of one, facing a wall-length mural of a variety of objects. At seeing Spock, Sulu presses a small red panel on the wall.

It glows, and an alien language bubbles out, which the universal translator turns to: “Find. One bow. Two shoes. One tree.”

Chekov triumphantly shouts, “Hah, there is a shoe!” He kneels down to tap what looks like a Terran sandal in the bottom left corner. At his contact, it fades into nothing.

He straightens with a victorious grin at both of them, though Sulu only sighs, “We weren’t looking for the shoes yet, Pavel. We need to find the bow!”

Spock ignores both of them, instead looking at the spot where the sandal drawing was. He glances over Sulu’s shoulder to the tricorder held up in his hands, actively taking readings, though neither gold-shirts seem particularly interested in those readings. 

Spock’s gaze lifts to the mural, and he reaches forward, tapping a bright red bow half-hidden between two round balls. 

Chekov swears, “Ah! I should hawe seen that! It was so _obwious!_ ”

But Sulu cheers, “Nice one, Commander! Now we just need one more shoe and a tree...”

“No,” Chekov whines, “That is cheating! I can do zhis!”

Spock promptly taps both the shoe and what he assumes is a tree native to this world. The entire mural abruptly fades out, and the stone shakes, the ground beneath them trembling. 

The wall smoothly withdraws into the roof. Loose pebbles rain down. Sulu whistles. Spock is _fascinated._

Chekov insists, “I will solve the next one!” and hurriedly races inside.


End file.
